Wednesday, March 22, 2017

It's been almost two years since veteran political reporter Michael Putney talked about Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine's "bright political future."

Later that same year - as Levine was running for a second term - he again appeared on Putney's show... and told a bunch of lies.

A few months after winning a second term as mayor, Levine made headlines locally when he videotaped himself harassing a Fed Ex driver for double parking on Miami Beach. Levine posted the video on You Tube that showed him confronting the driver.

I wrote about the incident on this blog and noted that Levine came off looking like a ninny as he ran after the driver. I also posted Levine's video. But for some reason Levine has made the video "private." (As is often the case...the Internet never forgets and the video still exists elsewhere ... I've posted it above.)

Why did Levine remove the video? Perhaps it's because he's mulling a possible run for Governor of Florida and would rather that Florida voters not see what happens when he becomes unhinged....which has been happening a lot, lately. And more people are starting to notice.

That bright political future that Putney spoke of in the summer of 2015 is beginning to dim somewhat.

In an editorial posted last night, the Sun Sentinel called Levine's recent behavior "bizarre," and "reckless." And referring to Levine's habit of blocking people on social media who don't agree with him, the Sun Sentinel called Levine's behavior "juvenile. "

"Levine is the mayor of a metropolitan city. Blocking people from seeing what he's saying in the social sphere is alarming behavior, especially for someone who wants to lead Florida," the Sun Sentinel's editorial board concluded. The editorial went on to compare Levine with another thin-skinned bully: Donald Trump:

"With the gubernatorial field beginning to take shape, Democrats should be asking themselves whether they really want a nominee whose temperament draws comparisons to that of President Donald Trump."